Fusing elements of 70’s hard rock, 80’s metal pushed through a electric white-boy blues filter and sprinkled with a healthy dose of funk, American Full Circle’s debut release is a pleasant surprise. Fans of Aerosmith, Grand Funk Railroad, Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin and Rocket 101 will certainly enjoy this record, and frankly these boys deserve kudos for sticking to their classic rock roots in a world inundated by the likes of Creed, Puddle of Mud, Nickelback, etc. etc. etc.

Guitarist Janusz Bartolik's licks are tasty and his voice strong (although a bit monotone) throughout the record and the rhythm section, though unremarkable, is extremely tight and seem to be about making the songs sound good, as opposed to featuring individual talents or skills.

My favorite cuts off the record include the catchy, yet rocking Love or Lust, What Love Means For You (which sounds like Judas Priest when they covered that Fleetwood Mac song Green Manalishi) and the cool groove of Hope Is Good For The Soul (makes you want to dance) that contains this over-the-top guitar solo. Janusz’s slide guitar playing in Bad Penny Boogie is interesting (although the repeating of the lyrics over and over is a little grating) and the organ in Childhood River is a nice touch (ever thought of adding a full-time keyboard player boys?).

Overall a strong debut from this classic power trio, with the usual exceptional engineering of Trevor Huster (Diecaster Studio). At this point the band has not reached the point where they are more than a sum of their influences, the lyrics often seem like an afterthought and at times the white boy blues borders on becoming tedious, but when they are rocking, playing solid songs, as a unit, which is SO important with a three-piece, this band has the potential to become something special. - review by John Johnston

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